Hot pot of bighead carp's head soup is a delicacy in East and
Southeast Asia.

Tony

Sajjad Lateef wrote:> > Two articles from the Chicago Tribune. The article quotes> Kurt Hettinger, Shedd Aquarium biologies and a NANFA member.> Copied here under "fair use" justification.> > Anyone eat carp? Is it any good? If it is, then I'll> take up carp fishing (corn for bait, cane pole and> 20lb line, right?) :)> > Sajjad> Voracious carp discovered in city lagoon> > Giant carp ready to eat way through Great Lakes> July 18, 2002> > Tribune staff reports> Published June 10, 2003, 3:15 PM CDT> > A Chicago fisherman's catch from a park district lagoon has alarmed> wildlife officials, who fear the spread of a voracious species of carp> into Lake Michigan.> > Sam Pena pulled the 38-pound fish Monday from the pond at McKinley> Park, a Southwest Side park at Pershing Road and Damen Avenue,> authorities said. State wildlife officials inspected the fish and> confirmed it was an Asian bighead carp, a fish that can grow to 100> pounds as it consumes everything in its path.> > It was unknown how the fish could have gotten into the park lagoon.> Though it is only a few blocks south of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship> Canal, the pond is not physically connected to the waterway.> > City officials today reminded the public the City Council in April> banned the release of any live carp into city waterways, and made it> illegal to import, sell, transport or keep the fish. Violators could> face up to six months in jail and fines of up to $1,000.> > Anyone who catches a Asian bighead or sees someone releasing the fish> into area lakes and ponds was urged to call the city's 311 public> services number.> > Scientists have warned the species could devastate the Great Lakes> ecosystem, devouring food supplies of other species, if it ever got> into Lake Michigan. The fish also is known to hurl itself over and into> boats, leading to reports of neck injuries, broken noses and bruises> among boaters.> > The Asian bighead, a foreign import, escaped from an Arkansas fish farm> into the Mississippi River watershed in 1990s and has been spotted> within 55 miles of Lake Michigan. Officials have proposed creating a> fish barrier in the Sanitary and Ship Canal and the Cal-Sag Channel,> which connect the lake with the Mississippi.> > WGN-Ch. 9 and Tribune wires contributed to this story.> Naturalists fear bighead carp is not alone> How 38-pounder got here a mystery> > Giant carp ready to eat way through Great Lakes> July 18, 2002> > By Mindy Hagen> Tribune staff reporter> Published June 11, 2003> > Illinois wildlife officials will scour the McKinley Park lagoon to> determine if more Asian bighead carp lurk where a hulking specimen of> the invasive species was caught last week.> > State and federal agencies have spent millions of dollars attempting to> keep the destructive fish out of the Great Lakes--but were caught off> guard when a local angler reeled in a 38-pound carp last Thursday in> the pond, at Pershing Road and Damen Avenue.> > Samuel Pena said he instantly realized his catch was not your typical> bass. After taking the fish home, Pena brought it to Henry's Sports and> Bait Shop, 3130 S. Canal St., where he buys nightcrawlers as bait. The> shop's owners--who still have the fish in a freezer and are showing it> to an increasing parade of visitors--called the Illinois Department of> Natural Resources. Officials identified the catch as an Asian bighead> carp on Friday morning.> > "When I caught it, I saw the scales and the eyes peering down and I> knew it looked deformed," said Pena, 42. "I hope there are no more in> this lagoon. If so, I'll jump in and swim and get them out myself."> > But John Fogner, field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife> Service office in Barrington, said state agencies concerned about the> carp entering Lake Michigan and decimating the ecosystem will conduct> their own investigation.> > Fogner said the DNR wants to know how Pena's fish entered the enclosed> lagoon--and if other Asian bighead carp also are present in the> picturesque pond.> > "There's no question it was placed in there by someone," Fogner said.> "It could be a single isolated fish or there could be many in there.> State agencies need to make a decision whether that lagoon has to be> rehabilitated or not."> > The Asian bighead carp are viewed as a menace because they prey on> organisms at the bottom of the food chain, wreaking havoc on the diets> of other predators. The species, whose taste is likened to tuna, was> imported by catfish farmers in Arkansas and moved into the Mississippi> River during flooding in the 1990s.> > It has since migrated into the Illinois River. Environmentalists hope> an underwater electric field installed by the Army Corps of Engineers> in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal at Romeoville will prevent the> fish from coming closer to Lake Michigan. A $7 million permanent> electrical barrier, aimed at stunning the carp as they approach, is> slated to be complete in 2004, Fogner said.> > "The electronic barrier is still a good idea because any effort that> can be made to curb these animals from coming in and harming the> ecosystem is great," said Kurt Hettigerof the Shedd Aquarium. "But it's> always on your mind that anyone could just drop one of these fish into> a body of water."> > As for rooting out the carp in the lagoon, Hettiger said officials> might decide to use chemicals to kill all of the pond's fish species.> > One person opposed to that idea is Lulu Washington, a retired South> Side resident who fishes at McKinley Park three to four times a week.> > Washington, who calls herself "the fish lady," reeled in about a dozen> fish Tuesday afternoon but said she's been getting fewer bites> recently. She blamed the carp.> > "It's slowed up a lot here, but we still want this lake to stay the way> it is," Washington said.> > Copyright ) 2003, Chicago Tribune> > =====> --> Sajjad Lateef> sajjad_at_acm.org> /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily> / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes> / Association"> / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association> / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word> / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to> / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to> / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.> / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org
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